Laboratory Hydraulic Machinery

Hydraulic machineries are of great importance in almost all engineering fields. They are using the hydraulic energy to produce electrical energy or to perform different tasks.

The academic activities and scientific research activities within the Laboratory of Hydraulic Machinery are attached to the energy engineering domain. The experimental rigs allow to investigate: duty points and cavitation related to the operation of clean water pumps (various centrifugal single-stage/multistage pumps and side channel pump); pumps can operate individually or in parallel/serial coupling, driven with constant or variable speed; duty points related to the operation of wastewater pumps (various vortex impeller submersible pumps and submersible mixer); pumps can operate individually or in parallel coupling; duty points related to the operation of impulse-type hydraulic turbines (Pelton turbine; gravitation vortex type turbine); biological wastewater treatment processes.

Experimental tests performed within the academic activity are attached to the following courses: “Hydraulic machinery”, “Pumping stations and hydraulic networks”, “Wastewater treatment technologies and equipment”, “Leakages management in water distribution networks”. The research activity is mainly performed by PhD students and MSc students.

The following modern experimental setups are available in the Laboratory of Hydraulic Machinery: test rig with 2 variable speed driven pumps, operating in parallel, controlled by software and touch screen; pumping station test rig with 3 variable speed driven pumps, operating in parallel, with HMI (Human Machine Interface) control panel; multipurpose test rig with 3 variable speed driven pumps, operating in serial/parallel coupling, with HMI control panel; multipurpose test rig with 5 different pumps, where two pumps can operate in serial/parallel coupling; test rig with 2 wastewater submersible pumps with vortex impeller, operating in parallel, with HMI control panel; experimental rig for testing the operation of a wastewater submersible pump with vortex impeller and wastewater submersible mixer, with HMI control panel; experimental rig for testing the liquid ring vacuum pump operation; demo rig for testing the Pelton turbine operation; demo rig for testing the operation of a gravitation vortex type turbine; biological small-scale wastewater treatment plant.